With a sample of 3,436 engaged and married couples, this study explores the prediction of relationship satisfaction using the personality traits of neuroticism, depression, kindness, impulsivity, flexibility, self-esteem, and extraversion while utilizing controls for non-independent couple data in structural equation modeling. Both actor effects (the impact of an individual's personality on his or her own satisfaction) and partner effects (the impact of the partner's personality on satisfaction) are examined, including comparisons of the relative strength of each for males and females. A comparison is also made of engaged and married couples to determine if relationship status acts as a moderator. A separate model is estimated for each personality trait, and all the models show excellent fit statistics. Findings show significant, negative actor and partner effects for neuroticism, depression, and impulsivity, and significant, positive actor and partner effects for kindness, flexibility, and self-esteem among both engaged and married couples. Extraversion has some significant positive effects but is a weaker predictor. Actor effects are generally stronger than partner effects among the engaged couples in the sample, however among married couples the actor and partner effects are more often of equal magnitude. Many paths differ significantly between engaged and married couples, and in each case the paths are stronger among married couples. These findings support the idea that a variety of personality traits are important predictors of satisfaction, and that both actor and partner effects need to be considered. Findings also give evidence that relationship status acts as a moderator, indicating that personality may be a stronger predictor of satisfaction among married couples than engaged couples. With some traits, an engaged individual's own personality may be a more powerful predictor of his or her satisfaction than the partner's personality, while both spouse's traits may be equally predictive of a married individual's satisfaction.

<p>Abstract</p><p>The purpose for writing this essay is to study the culture of kindness in the Church of Sweden, as the church constitutes as an idealistic organization (non-profit or voluntary organization).</p><p>The focal point is on how such a culture affects the employees, and if any new components</p><p>that can amplify the concept can be distinguished.</p><p>To do this a case study-design has been employed. The primary sources are qualitative</p><p>interviews with six employees in a congregation in the Church of Sweden, and participant</p><p>observations on two different occasions at the same congregation.</p><p>Theories of organizational sociology has been applied to the material, more specific Edgar H</p><p>Schein’s definition of organizational culture and the concept of a culture of kindness (deriving</p><p>from a report by the Swedish Work Environment Authority) as a specific part of the church’s</p><p>organizational culture.</p><p>The conclusions we can make from our study is that a culture of kindness affect employees in</p><p>both a positive and a negative way. There are many expectations that come with working in</p><p>the Church of Sweden, and these do have an effect on the work performed. There is also</p><p>evidence pointing to the fact that leadership can counteract the fear of conflicts that otherwise</p><p>is associated with the culture of kindness. Finally one can conclude that the concept of</p><p>kindness culture could be elaborated, for instance with a notion of leadership.</p>

Abstract The purpose for writing this essay is to study the culture of kindness in the Church of Sweden, as the church constitutes as an idealistic organization (non-profit or voluntary organization). The focal point is on how such a culture affects the employees, and if any new components that can amplify the concept can be distinguished. To do this a case study-design has been employed. The primary sources are qualitative interviews with six employees in a congregation in the Church of Sweden, and participant observations on two different occasions at the same congregation. Theories of organizational sociology has been applied to the material, more specific Edgar H Schein’s definition of organizational culture and the concept of a culture of kindness (deriving from a report by the Swedish Work Environment Authority) as a specific part of the church’s organizational culture. The conclusions we can make from our study is that a culture of kindness affect employees in both a positive and a negative way. There are many expectations that come with working in the Church of Sweden, and these do have an effect on the work performed. There is also evidence pointing to the fact that leadership can counteract the fear of conflicts that otherwise is associated with the culture of kindness. Finally one can conclude that the concept of kindness culture could be elaborated, for instance with a notion of leadership.

Inspired by words of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people in California and Denmark, this thesis critically analyzes the American criminal justice system and asks if critiques of the institution can be addressed and improved through the implementation of kindness and compassion within the walls of prison, itself.

Syftet med detta arbete har varit att undersöka hur tre mellanchefer på en myndighet motiverar sina anställda. Arbetet bygger på följande frågor: Hur motiverar de som ledare sina anställda? Jobbar de med att stärka den inre motivation eller ligger fokus på den yttre motivationen? Hur mycket betyder arbetskulturen för motivationen enligt cheferna? Studien är en kvalitativ intervjustudie genomförd på en myndighet. Tre intervjuer har genomförts med tre av tre mellanchefer. Det resultat som framkommit i studien visar att motivation är ett komplext område. Cheferna är väl medvetna om vad motivation är och jobbar aktivt med att stärka de anställdas motivation, men ibland kan det vara svårt att veta exakt vad individen motiveras av och hur mycket motivation en viss person behöver för att utföra sina arbetsuppgifter på ett effektivt och noggrant sätt. Det framgår att ledarskapsutveckling för cheferna är något de jobbar mycket med för att därigenom kunna stärka sina anställdas motivation. Känslan av gemenskap/släktskap på arbetsplatsen anses också av cheferna vara en bidragande faktor för de anställdas motivation. Det som också framkommer i studien är att alla ledarna försöker öka de anställdas inre motivation genom att inte vara för styrande och kontrollerande utan istället uppmuntra till självständigt arbete.

Social work's wish to do good is situated in the core of the profession, and doing good and helping others is the reason that attracts people to social work in the first place. But what does the profession consider to be good and kind social work?  Good intentions and kindness are often connected to the professions values but values shift and differ over time and circumstances, so does the work itself. This literature study attempts to use the framework established by Leslie Margolin to capture what the profession views as a kind and well intended work, question its motives and analyze the findings through a critical lens. The study comprises a seemingly varied material to try to show how good intentions can be found in all aspects of social work. Good intentions are an integral part of how social work understands itself on several different levels, but at the same time the idea of good intentions as a professional value seems to create a disconnect from its professional expertise.

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Everyday we come up with new solutions for our existing problems. But the solutions of today are tomorrow’s problem. The products we create as designers are often bringing more complexity in our society than it is initially intended for. This thesis aims to give a new perspective on the design practice community. Instead of starting with a problem-solving scope, this thesis intent is to find what is truly meaningful for human life, meaning finding, and to propose how we can envision new ways of meaning making within interaction design. The two processes together of meaning finding and meaning making is how we can aim for concrete results that are relevant for our society. To better understand what truly matters for human life, I collected 14 stories through ethnographic research. These ethnographic stories reveal the nature of human characteristics when people face and overcome big challenges in life. Some of these ethnographic stories highlights the life of a WWII survivor, war refugee, leukaemia child-patient and a widow. Parallel, to the ethnographic work, I explored how I can evoke a deeper connection between people, by making them listen to each-other’s heartbeat.  Inevitably, by exploring the fundamental elements of human life and observing the emotions and behaviour of my interviewees and participants, the thesis find itself often on the playground between philosophy and human life. But by taking a strong interaction design perspective, these insights were manifested in the human design manifesto booklet. This booklet proposes six expressions for designers, with the intention to embrace the fundamental elements of human life when we design:  1. Design attitudes, not solutions. 2. Design the medicine of the mind. 3. Design for relationships. 4. Design for our direct senses. 5. Design for the deep human connection. 6. Design the act of kindness  Later on, for the meaning making part: one statement from the Human Design Manifesto was selected to explore in depth: Design the act of kindness. For this expression project Hidden Figures was created. Hidden Figures is a design proposal which demonstrates that a design creation can be driven by the fundamental elements of human life. In this case proposing the act of kindness as a vision on how our society could be.  In overall, this master’s thesis demonstrates how our design proposals can embody and resonate well between the three levels of design philosophy, a designer’s vision and interaction design practice: How we, as designers, can use meaning-making and meaning-finding to create more relevant impact for our society. Last, I hope this work encourages other designers to think deeply about their own creations and its impact. And help designers reflect on why they create and how they could also alternatively practice design.

This thesis focuses on the acquisition of emotional competence (EC) skills in adults and its impact on well being. The first part of the thesis is dedicated to the definition of EC, including a review of EC in order to better understand and operationalize its main dimensions and correlates. We also present a systematic review of EC intervention studies on adult populations in order to assess their outcomes and make recommendations for the development and implementation of future interventions. We then provide a theoretical and practical framework for emotional competence (EC) based interventions. We describe the main components of an EC intervention, underline the important characteristics of the intervention pedagogy and discuss theoretical and practical implications of this framework.In a second part we investigate whether a sustainable improvement in emotional competencies is possible in adults, and what are the conditions and effects of this improvement on well-being (e.g. on mental and physical health and quality of interpersonal relationships). Results of three empirical studies confirm that EC can be significantly increased following an intervention (and compared to a control group) and that this intervention impacts favourably personal and interpersonal well-being as measured by psychological health, quality of relationship and employability.A last part of the thesis explores the mechanisms underlying this improvement of competencies and well-being. We focus on emotional acceptance, self-compassion, self kindness and behavioural flexibility. Because there was no scale measuring self-compassion or self kindness in French, we validate two scales and assess the relationships between these constructs and well-being.We then examined the possible benefits of emotional acceptance and behavioural flexibility in a randomized controlled study, showing how increasing emotional competence can enhance these change processes and how these processes can, in turn, enhance well-being.This research helps to further elucidate the role of active change processes in EC increase related to the promotion of well-being. / Doctorat en Sciences psychologiques et de l'éducation / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The thesis looks at the gift and at what kind of morality allows contemporary gift-giving. It is based on ethnographic research that focuses on a "generous social network" Hearth.net. This network was founded by the entrepreneur, philanthropist and buddhist Libor Malý. His goal is to fulfill the vision of improving interpersonal relationships and creating an economic system that is able to complement the existing market economy in the case of a crisis. This system also requires a change of paradigm into the paradigm of generosity and kindness. Adato Paradigma Group and the Ambassadors, who are the most active users of Hearth, help Libor Malý in fulfilling this goal. Hearth is a space where users can offer and receive gifts without an expectation of a counter-gift. The gift should be the tool that will allow the paradigm shift. The new paradigm of generosity and kindness is seen here as a cosmology based above all on the values of generosity and kindness, which is influenced mainly by the spirituality of Libor Malý. At the same time, this paradigm of generosity and kindness forms the moral basis for gift-giving within the Hearth network. Nevertheless, in the final form, the gift is determined by the moral assemblage of three moral dimensions (Zigon 2010). The thesis therefore is analyzing the...